Cooler air due to bright roofs

The principle of absorption and reflection of light as once again is demonstrated when a team of NASA scientists published results of studies on the heat absorption capacity of the roofs. Urban dwellings are measured on the hottest summer days in New York in 2011. The results show that, while the temperature of a darkened roof is up to approximately 77 degrees C, for a bright, This figure was only 71 degrees Celsius.

The bright roof test in New York last summer helped the highest temperatures
The roofs are reduced by an average of 6 degrees Celsius compared to the use of traditional black roofs

The roof of the test consists of two synthetic plastics films which are fitted with a special coating and are covered with a light coat (usually white).

Not only is it less heat-absorbing than darker roofs, the reflectivity of the light-colored roof surface is more effective as well.

In fact, traditional black surfaces containing asphalt and tar are water-repellent, durable, tough and easy to apply on complex roofs, however set in the New York context as well. Many other cities in the world are currently experiencing the urban heat island effect , so the installation of bright roofs will bring significant benefits.

For that reason, the bright roof team led by Stuart Gaffin, a scientist at Columbia University (USA), called the bright colors of the roofs 'new black'.

And this 'black new' initiative is now considered to be New York's first long-term effort to change the face of urban sprawl over the past hundred years and to step it up. The problem of urban heat island effect in the region aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

Urban heat island occurs when the temperature inside a city is significantly higher than in suburban areas. The cause of this phenomenon is that the amount of solar radiation is not absorbed by the plants, soil, water or reflected back into space that is kept on the surface of buildings, roads or sidewalks, Urbanization becomes a tropical island full of risks to human health and the environment.